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УДК 37.04
MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY YOUTH
Kazakova Olga
PhD in Philosophy, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages, History Faculty. Altai State University. Barnaul, Russia. E-mail: [email protected]
Zhao Xuehan
Student, Dalian University of Foreign Languages. Dalian, China. E-mail: [email protected]
ПРОБЛЕМЫ ПСИХИЧЕСКОГО ЗДОРОВЬЯ СОВРЕМЕННОЙ МОЛОДЕЖИ
Казакова Ольга Михайловна
Кандидат философских наук, доцент, профессор кафедры иностранных языков исторического факультета. Алтайский государственный университет. Барнаул, Россия. E-mail: [email protected]
Чжао Сюэхань
Студентка. Даляньский университет иностранных языков. Далянь, Китай. E-mail: 573405177@ qq.com
Следует цитировать / Citation:
Kazakova O. M., Zhao Xuehan. 2019. Mental health problems of contemporary youth. Health, Physical Culture and Sports, 4 (15), рр. 45-49. (in English). URL: http://journal.asu.ru/index.php/zosh Казакова О. М., Чжао Сюэхань. Проблемы психического здоровья современной молодежи // Здоровье человека, теория и методика физической культуры и спорта. — 2019. — № 4 (15). Спецвыпуск по гранту РФФИ № 19-013-20149\19. — С. 45-49. URL: http://journal.asu.ru/index.php/zosh Поступило в редакцию / Submitted 11.07.2019 Принято к публикации / Accepted 18.09.2019
Abstract. In today's society, full of competition, social pressure and temptation, modern young people find themselves in a difficult situation, which leads to problems with their mental health. Students gradually go through a period of spiritual formation in life and move from a period of psychological uncertainty to a more civilized, conscious stage. This is a new stage of individual development of students, and, at first glance, it seems that people are becoming more advanced and perfect creatures, making the transition to adulthood. At this period of life for the first time a person gets the maximum development in terms of content and form, showing more "humanization" and "civilization". However, this period is one of the most difficult in life and is characterized by fluctuations, ups and downs, as well as conflicts. In other words, it can be described as the entry of students into the "storm period" of growth in life.
For many reasons, such as serious workload in training, the need to often combine training with work, adverse environment, problems of the educational system, emotional shocks from interpersonal relationships, communication problems, unstable value orientation; some students
receive psychological abnormalities that lead to unstable mental state and even psychological or mental illness, which, as a result, may even lead to crimes or offenses due to psychological problems.
The article analyzes the most acute and common psychological problems of youth in the People's Republic of China at the present stage. The main causes leading to such unstable mental states of young people have been identified, and possible ways to solve the problem have been outlined.
The authors note the importance and the need to pay special attention to the mental health of today's youth, to study the current state of the problem, its causes and, based on the scientific approach, to plan a strategy and develop tactics for solving psychological problems of the younger generation.
Key words: mental health, mental health education, contemporary youth, teenager, countermeasures, psychology.
Аннотация. В современном обществе, полном конкуренции, общественного давления и соблазна, современные молодые люди оказываются в непростой ситуации, что приводит к нарушениям их психического здоровья. Студенты постепенно проходят период духовного становления в жизни и переходят от периода психологической неопределенности к более цивилизованному, осознанному этапу. Это новый этап индивидуального развития студентов, и на первый взгляд кажется, что люди становятся более продвинутыми и совершенными созданиями, осуществляя переход к взрослой жизни. На данном периоде жизни личность впервые получает максимальное развитие с точки зрения содержания и формы, показывающей больше «гуманизации» и «цивилизации». Однако этот период оказывается одним из самых сложных в жизни и характеризуется колебаниями, взлетами и падениями, а также конфликтами. Другими словами, его можно обозначить как вступление студентов в «штормовой период» роста в жизни.
По многим причинам, таким как серьезная загруженность при обучении, необходимость часто совмещать обучение с работой, неблагоприятная окружающая среда, проблемы образовательной системы, эмоциональные потрясения от межличностных отношений, проблемы в общении, нестабильная ценностная ориентация, у некоторых студентов появляются психологические отклонения, приводящие к нестабильному состоянию психики и даже психологическим или психическим заболеваниям, что в результате может даже привести к преступлениям или правонарушениям из-за психологических проблем.
В статье проанализированы самые острые и распространенные психологические проблемы молодежи в Китайской Народной Республике на современном этапе. Выявлены основные причины, ведущие к таким нестабильным состояниям психики молодых людей, и намечены возможные пути выхода и преодоления данной проблемы.
Авторы отмечают важность и необходимость уделять особое внимание психическому здоровью современной молодежи, изучать современное состояние проблемы, ее причины и, основываясь на научном подходе, намечать стратегию и разрабатывать тактику решения психологических проблем молодого поколения.
Ключевые слова: психическое здоровье, образование в области психического здоровья, современная молодежь, подросток, контрмеры, психология.
Introduction. At present, college students in China are basically young people aged 18-23 born in the 1990s who grew up in a superior environment. From the age point of view, they are already adults, their physiological development
tends to be completed, but psychologically they are still in the period from semi-mature to maturity. At the age from of 18 to 23, the critical period of personality formation and mental development, those who were born in the 1990s differ in many
ways from previous generations of college students. In addition, the comprehensive reform and opening up of China's economy and society for more than 30 years have brought about tremendous changes in the social environment, and social values have become increasingly complex and individualized. Pursuing money, fame and fortune has become a common trend of behavior for a contemporary college student. The value orientation influences the psychological development. Recent mental health surveys by relevant departments show that contemporary students in China have become psychologically disadvantaged groups, and students with different levels of psychological problems account for about one third. There are quite a number of students with psychological problems such as pessimism, loneliness, self-will, anxiety, and world weariness, which lead to the continuous occurrence of suicides among students. According to the network survey (correct this expression), there were 65 suicides in the first half of 2015, occurring on average every three days. More than 90% of the deaths, 28 of which were college students and postgraduates; Shanxi colleges and universities also had many student suicides in 2015. Therefore, the task of paying attention to the mental health of adolescents is urgent.
This article is intended to provide new ideas to solve the problems of mental health of college students and improve the level of their mental health, promoting comprehensive improvement in the quality of life of college students in order to promote social harmony and students' orderly and healthy development.
Maslow and Mittelman (1951) have suggested the following criteria for normal psychological health [1, p. 310]:
1. Adequate feeling of security;
2. Adequate self-evaluation;
3. Adequate spontaneity and emotionality;
4. Efficient contact with reality;
5. Adequate bodily desires and the ability to satisfy them;
6. Adequate self-knowledge;
7. Integration and consistency of personality;
8. Adequate life goals;
9. Ability to learn from experience;
10. Ability to satisfy the requirements of the group;
11. Adequate emancipation from the group or culture.
Based on the above criteria, the psychological problems of college students in China are more serious. "Research Report on the Psychological Quality of College Students in Beijing and the Work of Psychological Quality Education" [2, p. 137-140] shows that
16.51 % of the students in Beijing have moderate mental health problems,
the mental health of girls is worse than that of boys, the proportion of girls with problems being 17.34%, boys' — 16.07%;
lower grade mental health is worse than the upper grades, of which the second grade mental symptoms are the most prominent, 17.56%,
rural students conditions are worse than urban students; among them, the proportion of students in remote rural areas is 19%.
Moreover, a recent survey of college students [3, c. 22-23] across the country showed that 28.75% of students had different levels of obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and anxiety. The number of college students who retired due to various psychological disorders has accounted for 50% of the total number of students who dropped out of school. College students commit suicide due to psychological problems, it occupies the first place in the number of abnormal deaths of college students.
From these data, it is clear that the psychological problems of contemporary youth are by no means an individual phenomenon, but have certain universality. This should arouse the attention of the education sector and society, adopt positive and stable measures, and solve them scientifically and efficiently. Problems and solutions 1 Mental health status of adolescents In addition to the decline in physical fitness levels, the mental health problems of adolescents have also become the focus of the community. In recent reports, we can often see some school violence or student suicides, which have a certain impact on the growth of other teenagers and the stability and harmony in the society. The mental health problems of adolescents are not only problems of individuals or families, but deserve the concern of the whole society. According to the
World Health Organization report, the number of children with mental disorders worldwide will continue to grow by more than 50% by 2020, and the mental health of adolescents in China is even more worrying. According to the survey data released by the China Youth Research Center, about 10% of adolescents under the age of 18 in China currently have emotional or behavioral problems, mainly characterized by emotional instability and poor learning adaptability, weak psychological capacity, lack of self-confidence, sexual psychological deviation, anxiety, or self-harming behavior. In addition, the survey data of the education sector in China also showed that about 7 % of the students in primary and secondary school groups had suicidal thoughts and developed corresponding plans. In the high school students group, this figure rose to 38%. At present, the youth groups in China are generally subject to greater psychological pressure, and the psychological situation is not optimistic [3, p. 2223].
2 Reasons for Problems with Adolescent Mental Health
Adolescents are in a critical period of building self-consciousness and aquiring autonomy and independence. The main reason for this is that the original attention to the objective forces of the outside world has gradually turned into a high concern for personal development. The reason for this is that there are inevitably some young people who are too sensitive to self-development concerns and it may lead to a number of psychological problems. According to the results of the National Mental Health Self-evaluation Report of the National Education Department, at present, the overall psychological status of adolescents in China is good. About 15% of adolescents have different levels of psychological problems, and more than 50% of adolescents say they have some emotional problems, such as feeling lonely, anxious, depressed, etc., which are accompanied by physical problems such as stomach upset and insomnia. In the group study, it is found that adolescents in secondary school have the highest proportion of mental health problems. On the other hand, young people at this stage are in an important period of physical development. Many teenagers feel strong incompatibility with their own physical changes,
which may cause emotional distress or have certain obstacles when communicating with others. The survey results show that female adolescents have more serious problems with inferiority, fear and anxiety than male adolescents, while men are dealing with problems with the opposite sex and self-image.
The proportion of the aspect is significantly higher than that of the female youth. In addition, we also understand that there is a certain correlation between adolescents' mental health and their physical fitness. Generally speaking, adolescents with poor physical health are relatively prone to problems in mental health.
Looking for solutions
Effective countermeasures to improve the comprehensive quality level of adolescents' physical and mental health
Pay attention to the physical and mental health problems of junior high school students
Junior high school students and high school students are in an important period of healthy development of mind and body. They have strong plasticity both physically and mentally, but at the same time, junior high school students lack sufficient independent ideas and are susceptible to external factors. Therefore, when we study the physical and mental health problems of adolescents, we should appropriately focus on junior high school students and high school students, and increase the education of middle school students' physical and mental health. On the one hand, schools should actively provide physical education courses to continuously improve the physical function of students; on the other hand, schools should also set up special psychological counseling rooms to arrange professional psychological counseling teachers to help students solve the problems encountered in life and study.
3.2 Coordinating the strength of all sectors of society to jointly build a good growth environment
A good social environment is of great significance for cultivating the healthy development of adolescents' physical and mental health. Therefore, whether it is a family, a school, or some social institutions, they should do all they can to build a civilized and harmonious social environment for the healthy growth ofyoung people. Specifically, schools should improve the campus network environment
and eliminate some bad online cultural information so as not to erode the physical and mental health of young people. In general, we must gather the strengths of families, schools, government agencies and other sectors of society to create a civilized and harmonious social environment for the healthy development of young people.
Improve the monitoring system for the physical and mental health of adolescents
In order to effectively solve the problems existing in the development of young people's physical and mental health, in addition to the above-mentioned countermeasures, it is necessary to establish a set of tracking and feedback mechanisms to achieve comprehensive monitoring of the development of adolescents' physical and mental health. To this end, it is necessary for schools to conduct in-depth investigation and research on the development of adolescents' physical and mental health from the perspective of macro-monitoring, to monitor them continuously and
evaluate the indicators of adolescents' physical and mental health. Therefore, we should create special training programs to solve the physical and mental health problems of contemporary adolescents, guide them to form a correct world outlook and values, and promote the comprehensive quality of adolescents. We should help develop their talents that are so valuable for the country's social and economic development.
Conclusion. In conclusion, young people is one of the most important groups in the society, whose physical and psychological health are directly related to its future. Therefore, school educators should attach great importance to the physical and mental health problems of adolescents, actively strengthen communication with young people in the teaching process, timely understand their physical and psychological conditions, and find corresponding solutions to the healthy development of the mind and body of young people.
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